Towel dispensing apparatus



July 1, 1952 R. G. BIRR TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 3, 1948 July l, 1952 R. G. BIRR TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1948 July 1, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 3, 1948 .mab

ILIMBN @N July 1, 1952 R. G. BIRR 2,601,956

TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5. 1948 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented July l, 1952 UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Rudolph Birr, Lombard, Ill.,V assigner to American LinenSupply Co., Carsonv City, Nev'., a corporation of Nevada Amm-attimiA November s, 1948, serial No; 58,030

My present` invention relates to apparatus for dispensing towels and aims to provide an apparatus which will be relatively easier to load and. prepare for service than devices of this type heretofore provided.

My presentr apparatus is designedior the dis-- pensing of paper towels from a rollbut I doV not limit myself to paper towels, as it will be apparent that my apparatus may also be used for dispensing fabric towels;

The principal object ofthe invention is to pro= vide an apparatus of thel'zind described inwhich loading and conditioning theL appara-tus for dispensing is facilitated by the' provision ofa rollholding structure Whichis swingable into and outV the roll to overspin when withdrawalV of toweling is suddenly interruptedv by the engagement of the members constituting a; locking mechanism-.

It is a furtherV object of the invention to pro-w vide an apparatus of the character described inA which a pressure member serves as" aL brakeV on the supply roll and in which said pressure memberv is provided with means. visible from the' exterior of the apparatus, for indicating thev quantity of towel available within thel cabinet forv dis*- pensing. t .Y

It is a further ob'ect ofthe" invention' to pro'- vide an apparatus of tlieY cl'i'aracterv described which will function properly only when a' supply roll of the correct size is mounted in the" apparatus and'in which it will be diiii'cult tor Withdraw toweling in the event that; the apparatus should be loaded with a supply roll of insufficient Vaxial length.

Other objects of the invention and the advan-VY tages thereof Will be morefully' brought'out as the description proceeds. y Y

In the accompanying drawings; I" have' illus-V trated a practical embodiment of myinvention but it is to be understood thatf do not '1i-init myself to the precise structuralieaturesillustrated therein anddescribed in the following specification. It will be readily-apparent to-tho'se skilled in the art'thatthe structuralfeaturesl are susceptible of embodiment inother forms with?- out departing from the spirit of the-invention or the scope thereof as defined inthey appended claims.

`AIn the drawings, ,;`Fg.,1 is a viewinf-side'` elevationof a towel olis- 8 Claims. (C1. 242555) pensing apparatusem'bodying my invention, the

cover being shown in open position and the rollsupporting structure swung out of the cabinetv in loading position;

Fig.` Zi's a` view in side elevation'- with a portion ofi the cover broken away showing the stop mechanism in its inoperative position, said view being taken substantially on line 2`-2 of Fig'. 4;

Fig-3 is a View 'similar to Fig-f. 2- but showing the stops engaged, said view being taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig'.Y 4;-

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the interior mech-` anisrn of theV apparatus with the cover largely broken away; y Y

Fig. 5 is a view in section taken substantially'on line '5--5`of Figi. 4;. andv y Fig.- 6 is a sectional view taken substantiallyon line @-6 of Figa- 40 f ReferringV now to the: drawings, tneaapparatus comprises an inner'casingmade up of aback wall I, sidewalls 2` and 3, and a bottomfwall 4, thus providing a structurer which` is open at the front and the topi.- A- cover 5 i'spivot'ed as at E to the'A near its forward end, as atl, thereby providingV with the front" wallV ofthe cover f5" a-di'spensingopening through which toweling may be withdrawn.

It will be noted that thev front wallof the cover 5, near its bottom edge, 'is perforated as at 8j to provide openings throughwhifch the leading edge rof the towelin-g may beseen from the front of the cabinet. This perforated area may b'e'produced by stamping' and, if desired, thelettersloi Words may be stamped out, suchA as' thewords tear here," as` shown in Patent 2,298,179, granted October 6, 1942. Y,

The towel feedingmechanism'comprises a :feed

roll 9 journaledi'nv the Side Walls fand 31.l YSaid feed roll may be in tliel form of` a groovedk rollas shown particularly' in Fig. llfajncl-maj75 be'Y covered withsandpaper or othertrwt'on-Yrn-aterialso 'as toassure' rotation of the rolitasineftoweiis drawn. across it. 'f f A" At one end-said roll is pruidedwiti: a ratchet" I9' cooperating withk apawl' II mountedron the sidewall 3 so' as tof preventfreverse"operationfoif theifeed 101119; f 11' 'if At its opposite end the feed roll 9 is provided Y with a manually operable feed wheel l2. This feed wheel is provided so that a user may manually turn the feed roll so as to project the leading edge of the towel outwardly through the dispensing opening to make said leading edge accessible to the user who will grasp the same and draw the towel out. Said feed wheel I2 projects outwardly through a slot I3 formed in the front wall of the cover =5.

Cooperating with the feed roll 3 and also journaled in the side wallsI 2 and 3 is a pressure roll I4 which is pressed into contact with the feed roll 9 by suitable springs l5. Said pressure roll i4 is journaled in elongated slots 1S in the side walls 2 and 3 so as to provide room to lift the pressure roll lll out of contact with the feed roll 9 when the apparatus is being loaded.

A guiding apron I1 is mounted on the pressure roll I4 and extends downwardly in contact with the surface of the feed roll 9, thus forming a dispensing throat through which the towel passes when it is being withdrawn from the cabinet.

Said apron l1 is provided with straps i8 which extend over the pressure roll I4. These straps are provided with small and somewhat sharp projections I9 for a purpose presently to b-e described.

The upwardly bent portion 1 of the bottom wall Il may be provided with a plurality of stripper fingers 20 adapted to engage in the grooves of the feed roll 9 and are so arranged with respect to the surface of said feed roll 9 that they prevent the toweling from becoming wrapped around said feed roll and assure delivery of the toweling through the dispensing throat.Y

It will be noted, particularlyfrom an inspection of` Figs. and 6, that the feed roll 9 and the pressure roll le are arranged in the lower part of the cabinet and near the front thereof.

As will also be seenfrom said Figs. 5 and 6, the supply roll-supporting structure is mounted above the feeding mechanism and comprises the following arrangement: Roll-holding arms 2 i are pivoted as at 22 to the side walls 2 and 3 and said arms are adapted to be swung about said pivots 22 to a position outside of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 1. y l

The lower edges of the arms 2l are bent over as at 23 and are connected by a strap 24 which preferably is resilient so as Vtaper/mit slightly spreading the arms 2l when they are in loading position outside of the cabinet and thusv facilitate the proper insertion of a supply roll. v y

The arms 2| are provided with journals 25 which are adapted to enter into the usual hollow core upon which the supply roll is wound.

If desired, the journals 25 may be provided with a control device adapted to cooperate with a similar device provided on the core of the roll so as to assure that only proper rolls may be mounted in the cabinet. This arrangement may be of the type shown in Patent 2,169,399, granted August 15, 1939. Because of the disclosure of this earlier patent, I deem it unnecessary here to elaborate upon that particular mechanism which forms no part of my present invention.

The arms 2i are provided with laterally extending wing members 26 which are adapted to engage the front edges of the side walls 2 and 3 so as to limit inward movement of said arms and lthe roll supported thereby and provide for accurate placement of the supply roll.

In the drawings said supply roll is indicated by the reference numeral 21 and may be, and preferably is, a roll of paper toweling although a roll of fabric toweling may also he mounted in my apparatus and dispensed thereby.

The said wing members 2B also serve to limit outward movement of the supporting arms 2l when they are in position to be loaded with a supply roll, as shown in Fig. 1.

It is to be noted from Figs. 5 and 6 that when the supply roll 21 is in proper position and the cabinet is ready for dispensing, said supply roll is located above the feed apparatus comprising the rolls 9 and i4.

Because in my present apparatus it will be desirable to use a stop mechanism which will presently ,be described, it sometimes happens that when rotation-of the supply roll is suddenly interrupted, there is a tendency for the roll to overspin and thus produce a loop of toweling within the cabinet. In order to prevent, or at least to minimize, this occurrence, I provide a pressure member 3D pivotally mounted in the side plates 2 and 3 by pivot'pins 3| and which is held against the supply roll 21 by springs 32.

The pressure member 30 is provided along its outer edges with flanges 33 which aid in centering the supply roll in the cabinet and prevent any possible lateral shifting of the roll.

It will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 5 and 6 that the center of gravity of the supply roll 21 is well inside the cabinet beyond the pivot point 22 and that the pressure member 33 bears against the back surface of the roll. There will thus be suicient pressure on the roll to prevent overspinning or atleast to rreduce such overspinning to a minimum so that proper operation of the device isnot hindered.

If it should be attempted to load the apparatus with a supply roll of insufficient axial length to be supported by the 'arms 2|, such shorter roll will then necessarily be supported on the pointed projections i9 formed on Vthe straps i8 which surround the pressure roll H. Said pointed projections I9 will therefore indent the paper on the supplylroll' and prevent its rotation so that toweling-cannotbe withdrawn from the cabinet. f

To the back of the pressure member 30 I have secured an indicator 34. Said indicator is visible through a slot 35 formed in the. cover 5. Suitable indicia may be stampedpr otherwise marked along the slot so that the position of the indicator 33 will indicate the amount of toweling'that remains in the cabinet, thereby to inform the attendant when it is necessary-Lto re-loadY the apparatus.

It is understood, of course, that as the diameter of the supply roll 21 decreases by reason of withdrawal of toweling the Ap'ressuremember 33, by reason of the springs 32, follows the roll and remains in contact therewith. Therefore, the said indicator 34 will substantially accurately indicate the amount of the supply"rol1 that is still within the cabinet.

In 'a dispensing apparatusy this sort used for the purpose intended, it is desirable to eliminate as far as possible the wasteful use of toweling. To this endmywapparatusv is ,provided with a stop mechanism whichnjbecomes operative after a predetermined lengthof toWeling-has been withdrawn to lockthe feed lroll 'against further rotation. j

It is also desirable that the mechanism'shall remain engaged for a predetermined lengthof time so as to prevent too rapid `su'ccessivewithdrawals. To this end, Ilfhave'incorporated-7a a of vacuum cups 65. and` 66.

accross time Control mechanism which. will now; be. described` in conjunction with the stopmembers.

A stop member 12D is mounted on the journal of the feed roll 9 to rotate therewith, A second stop member yil is pivoted on the side plate 3 as at i2 and is providedy with a spring 43 which tends to hold the stop member 4I in its inoperative position. A slotted link 44 connects the two stop members andis so arranged that as the feed roll 9 is rotated the rotative movement of the stop 59 will pull the pivoted stop il into locking position. Fig. 2 shows the stop members in their normal inoperative position vso that the feed roll 9 may be freely rotated. 3 shows said members engaged sol that rotation of the feed roll 9 is prevented.

The time control mechanism comprising a pair The. lower cup 45 is mounted on a plate 13'! which is secured to the side plate 3. The upper vacuum cup lit is mounted on a slide 43 which has a, guide slot 139 engaging a pin 59 on the sideplate 3. The slide :it is also held in position by the xed plate di. The bottom of the slide 48 carries a link 5l which is connected to the slotted link 44 at its pivot point 52 on the movable stop M.

The foregoing arrangement is such that as the movable stop 49 rotates upon rotation of the feed roll 9 the cooperative action of thevlinks 54 and El will pull the slide 48 downwardly and press the vacuum cup 4t into engagement with the vacuum cup 45, as shown in Fig. 8.v Said vacuum cups are held together by the vacuum thus created and will not separate until sufcient air is allowed to enter into them. The entrance of air is controlled by a valve 53 carried by the vacuum cup d5. This valve is adjustable so that the length of time that the cups remain vacuum-attached may be regulated for almost any desired length of time from about one second to as long a time as is desired.

When air enters into the evacuated space between the cups, the vacuum attachment is broken and the spring 43 will rock the pivoted stop member el about its pivot 42 and thus restore the slide 48 to its initial inoperative position.

The stop mechanism and time-control therefor which have been described abovev` are substantially identical with the corresponding mechanisms shown in my copending application, Ser. No. 722,590, led January 17, 1947, now Patent No. 2,592,785, dated April 15, 1952. In this respect, the present application may be considered a continuation in part of my said former application. Parts of the paper ejection after a timed stop is disclosed in my copending application 544,919 led July 14, 1944, now Patent 2,457,439, dated December 28, 1948, of which this may be considered a continuation in part.

It will be noted from an inspection of l'igs.

2 and 3 that the movement of the slide 43 is in a straight vertical line and that the engagement of the stops @il and 4| is on a line substantially centrally of the slide 48. vBy this straight line motion and contact of the stop members, I eliminate to a great extent Wearon these parts normally experienced by other arrangements. Y

From aninspection of Figs. 1 and 4, it will be seen that the manually operated feed wheel I2 is provided with a wire bale 55 connected to a coil spring 59 secured to afflange formed on the side plate 2. The purpose ofthis arrangement is to provide an automatic feed-out of toweling when the time stop mechanism previously described dseneages' at. mined time, ,intervalz.r When; toweling; is4 withdrawn .the-v` said` feed; wheel;l lf2. rotateswith the feed. roll 9;, thus-stretching the, spring 55. But saidfspring cannotxretract vso long as thestop mechanism remainsfengaged. When. the stops @diend si separate,'and the feed roll e; is free for-ro.tation,thespring will retract and will causa a rotative movement; of the feed roll 9 sufficient. toexposethe, leading edge. o ff the .towelingjandmake it accessiblev to .the user. The foregoing described automatic feed mechanism is also illustrated inr my .said copending application,A Ser; No. 722,590; 1t .will be. understood, of course, that the automaticffeed mechanism just described is not necessarily employed in this apparatus. It may be elimina-ted by; omitting the bale 55 and the spring 59 so that the manually operated feed wheelvrl l2V is used. alone to, advance the toweling into position to be grasped..

To service this apparatus,v an attendant first unlock-s the lock 59 bywhich the cover 5 is: held in position over the dispensing mechanism. u Said i cover 5 is then lowered' to the` position shown-'in Fig. 1. porting arms 2l out of the cabinet and may use the laterally projecting wings 25 for that purpose. The arms 2l may be spread slightly so as to facilitate the insertion between them of a supply roll, such spreadingbeing permitted by the resilient strap 25 which connects the arms. When in this position, the leading edge of the toweling is pulled down and passed betweenthe feed roll 9 and thepressure roll le, the latter being raised slightly against'the action of the springs. E5k to permitl passage of the toweling. At this time also theapron l1 may be liftedV slightly so that the toweling may freely pass down into the dispensing throat. This having been done, the arms 2l are swung back intothe cabinet as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and the lock 69 is closed. The cabinet is now ready for operation.

When loading the cabinet, a sufoient length of toweling is drawn over the feed roll and through the dispensing opening so that the leading edge ofthe toweling may be grasped and pulled. When this is done, the feed roll is rotated until the stops engage and prevent further rotation. The length of toweling thus withdrawnv is torn off along the bottom edge of the cover. At the end of the timing period provided by the vacuum cup mechanism, the stops disengage 'operable feed rwheel i 2 slightly so as to bring the leading edge of the towel into position to be grasped.

claim as my invention: l. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing having a delivery opening, a feedroll in Y said casing, a pair of supply roll supporting arms pivotally mounted in said casing for swinging movement into and out of said casing,-and means on said arms for limiting swinging movement-in both directions.v

2. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing, a pair of supply roll supporting arms piv- -oted at one end to said casing near the front thereof; roll supporting journals on the opposite endsof said arms, and resilientbrakc means the. end. of the predeter- The attendant now swings the roll supat the rear of said casing adapted to bear against a supply roll mounted in said journals.

3. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising an inner casing and a cover therefor, a pressure member pivotally mounted in said inner casing and adapted to bear against the cylindrical surface of a supply roll and having means adapted to resist axial motions of the supply roll, said cover being provided with an opening through which the position of said pressure member may be observed to determine the necessity of reloading the casing.

4. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising an inner casing and a cover therefor, said cover being provided with a sight opening, a brake pressure member pivotally mounted in said casing and adapted to bear against the cylindrical surface of a supply roll, and means on said pressure member visible through said sight opening for indicating the diameter of the supply roll and the necessity of replacing the same.

5. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing, a, pair of arms in said casing for supporting a supply roll of predetermined axial length. a pressure roll in said casing below said supply roll, and means on said pressure roll adapted to engage and prevent rotation of a supply roll of insufficient axial length to be supported by said arms.

6. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing, a feed roll mounted therein, a pressure roll contacting said feed roll, a guide apron secured to said pressure roll and forming with said feed roll a passage for tcweling, means in said casing for supporting a, supply roll of predetermined axial length, and means on said guide apron securing means for engaging and preventing rotation of a supply roll of less than said predetermined axial length 7. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing, means for supporting a roll of toweling in said casing, a feed roll over which the toweling passesl and adapted to be rotated by a pull on the toweling, means for locking said feed roll against further rotation after the delivery of a predetermined amount of toweling, timing mechanism for holding said locking means engaged and permitting its disengagement after the lapse of a predetermined time interval, a manually operable feed wheel for rotating said feed roll, and means on said feed Wheel for automatically rotatingV said feed roll when said locking means disengages.

8. Towel dispensing apparatus comprising a casing, a feedv roll in said casing adapted to be rotated by a pull on the toweling, a manually operable feed wheel connected to said feed roll and accessible from the exterior of said casing, and spring means in said casing connected to said feed wheel for automatically partially rotating said feed roll` RUDOLPH G. BIRR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France May 6, 1910 

